Demeter Energy, a start-up bio-fuel energy company, has filed a legal malpractice action claiming more than $600 million in damages against Los Angeles-based law firm Girardi & Keese and named partner Thomas Girardi.
As was first reported by Alison Frankel of ThomsonReuters:
"Demeter hired the famous Los Angeles plaintiffs' shop Girardi Keese to bring a malpractice suit against DLA. According to Demeter's new suit, Girardi drafted a proposed complaint asserting that DLA's actions had damaged Demeter to the tune of $600 million. Girardi even sent the draft to DLA, allegedly with the hope of beginning settlement discussions. But when DLA refused to talk, Girardi supposedly failed to get Demeter's malpractice suit filed before the one-year statute of limitations had expired – even though Demeter allegedly sent Girardi panicked emails about time running out."
Eventually, once the suit was filed by Girardi & Keese against DLA Piper in the San Francisco Superior Court, a judge dismissed most of the allegations, stating that they run afoul of the statute of limitations.
Citing professional negligence on the part of Girardi & Keese, Demeter filed a legal malpractice action against that firm in Los Angeles Superior Court. Hermosa Beach-based Eric Maier of Maier & Shoch represents Demeter in the action against Girardi & Keese.
According to Alison Frankel, Mr. Girardi admitted that Demeter did not have a viable case against DLA Piper, and that Girardi only filed the complaint that was subsequently tossed out because of pressure from his client (Demeter). Ms. Frankel reports that Thomas Girardi stated: "We investigated and could find absolutely nothing this guy [the former DLA partner] did wrong."
It is unclear whether Mr. Girardi further elaborated to Ms. Frankel about the reasons his firm nevertheless filed the suit against DLA Piper in San Francisco Superior Court if it lacked any factual basis, or whether his statements to Ms. Frankel were merely an attempt to shift blame to the victim.
Separately, and somewhat ironically, the Los Angeles Times reports that Thomas Girardi expressed outrage after an attorney for the Los Angeles Dodgers suggested Mr. Stow may be found partly to blame for the beating that left him in a coma. Mr. Girardi stated: “Oh, so here it is, let’s blame the innocent guy for the lack of security at Dodger Stadium...McCourt’s taken millions out of the Dodgers and he and his attorneys know the end is near.”
Interestingly, both Girardi & Keese and DLA Piper were subjects of our extensive coverage in connection with sham charity CaliforniaALL.
Separate malpractice suit against Girardi & Keese, please see @:
http://lesliebrodie.blog.co.uk/2012/01/05/prominent-trial-lawyer-terance-mix-assails-tom-girardi-and-girardi-keese-12400745/
For more about Thomas Girardi, please visit:
